Portable housing case for musical instrument

ABSTRACT

A portable housing case particularly for use in receipt of a prescribed musical instrument is basically constituted by a pair of a base board and a top board, which are assembled together using hinges to form a shell, which can be freely closed or opened. The base board has a band-shaped hollow elongated in a longitudinal direction, and the top board has a band-shaped projection elongated in a longitudinal direction, wherein they are formed in prescribed dimensions to be engaged with each other when the case is stacked with the other case. Thus, it is possible to establish a stable stacking relationship between portable housing cases, regardless of sizes and shapes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to portable housing cases, in particularthose for carrying musical instruments.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Conventionally, portable housing cases such as trunks are usedfor storage, receipt, and transportation of various types of musicalinstruments such as electronic keyboard instruments and recorders formusic training, for example. These portable housing cases have specificstacking structures and may be made of shockproof materials such as ABS(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) resins.

[0005] A conventional example of a trunk-type portable housing case willbe described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. This case is basicallyconstituted by a base board 1 and a top board 2, which are accompaniedby frames 1 a and 2 a respectively at prescribed peripheral end portionsthereof. That is, the base board 1 and the top board 2 having hollowspace are combined together using hinges 3 so as to form a shell, whichcan be freely opened or closed. The hinges 3 are arranged opposite tothe frames 1 a and 2 a, between which a handle 4 having an appropriateshape suitable for a human hand, and lock mechanisms 5 are arranged.Thus, a person can easily hold the handle 4 and carry the case by hand.

[0006] The aforementioned portable housing case is made of ABS resins inconsideration of various parameters such as formability inmanufacturing, adaptability to variety of designs in manufacturing, andshockproof strength when used.

[0007] It is possible to arrange legs 6 in proximity to the exteriorsurfaces of the hinges 3 in order to allow the case to be verticallyarranged on the floor and the like as necessary. A large-size case mayfurther arrange castors (or small wheels) in order to allow the tractionthereof.

[0008] The aforementioned portable housing case may have a specificstacking control or structure to maintain the stability intransportation when horizontally arranged and piled with the other casesof the same type.

[0009] According to the conventional stacking structure, projectingelements P made of soft rubbers or soft resins having appropriatethickness are adhered to four corners of the exterior surface of thebase board 1. The projecting elements P may prevent the case fromsliding away from the other case when horizontally arranged and piledtogether, and they also prevent scratches from being unexpectedly formedby surfaces of shells rubbing against each other.

[0010] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-292820 disclosesanother example of the portable housing case in which concavities orrecesses are formed on the base board while convexities or projectionsare formed on the top board, wherein the recesses and projections aremutually engaged with each other when the case is horizontally arrangedand piled together with the other case. Thus, it is possible to providestacking abilities without damaging exterior designs. That is, theaforementioned case has a stable stacking ability, regardless of surfaceconfigurations of the base board and top board.

[0011] The aforementioned cases having stacking structures are used toreceive musical instruments used in orchestras and are collectivelytransported by wagons, cargoes, carriers, and the like. In that case,these cases can be easily loaded into carriers in order withoutrequiring large spaces therefor and without causing load shifts duringtransportation. Furthermore, the same advantages can be demonstrated instock controls and exhibitions of prescribed goods in stores or shopsusing the aforementioned cases.

[0012] However, the conventional portable housing cases having stackingstructures have drawbacks in that the number of parts must be increasedin manufacturing due to the provision of additional parts such asprojecting elements for stacking, which may increase the number ofmanufacturing processes and the manufacturing cost. In addition, usersmay be dissatisfied with exterior designs of the aforementioned cases,which may be visually deteriorated due to the provision of additionalparts such as projecting elements.

[0013] Recent developments and improvements of resin materials (e.g.,ABS resins) and forming techniques bring numerous types of ‘curved’designs for trunks and cases, exteriors of which are partially orentirely curved in rounded shapes. Therefore, even though the caseshaving rounded shapes are accompanied with the aforementioned stackingmembers, they may not demonstrate satisfactory stability whenhorizontally arranged and piled together, which may readily result inload shifts during transportation.

[0014] The aforementioned Japanese Unexamined Publication No. 2001-29280discloses a portable housing case in which in order to solve theaforementioned problems, corresponding recesses and projections, whichmatch with each other when engaged, are arranged on the base board andthe top board respectively. However, the stacking ability is onlydemonstrated in the case where the cases of the same type are piledtogether. In other words, the stacking ability cannot always bedemonstrated when the cases of different types are piled together. Inthat case, it is difficult to secure a sufficient stability intransportation unless recesses and projections are arranged in the samepositional relationship between the adjoining cases. Furthermore, theaforementioned drawbacks may cause unwanted restrictions in designs ofcases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] It is an object of the invention to provide a portable housingcase that can secure stacking with the other case during transportationwithout deteriorating the exterior design. Herein, band-shaped stackingmembers engaged with each other are arranged opposite to each other onthe base board and the top board of the portable housing case. Thus,this invention can reliably demonstrate a stable stacking ability evenwhen cases of different sizes are piled or stacked with each other,regardless of the surface shapes of the base boards and top boards.

[0016] A portable housing case particularly for use in receipt of aprescribed musical instrument such as a trumpet and a drum is basicallyconstituted by a pair of a base board and a top board, which areassembled together using hinges to form a shell, which can be freelyclosed or opened, wherein these two boards have stacking controlswithout arranging additional parts and without damaging exterior designsthereof.

[0017] Specifically, the base board has a band-shaped hollow elongatedin a longitudinal direction thereof, and the top board has a band-shapedprojection elongated in a longitudinal direction, wherein theband-shaped hollow and the band-shaped projection are engaged with eachother when the case is stacked with the other one. To facilitateengagement between them and to establish a prescribed positionalrelationship between them, the prescribed standard is introduced withrespect to the width, depth, and height in formation of the band-shapedhollow and band-shaped projection respectively.

[0018] That is, the band-shaped hollow and the band-shaped projectionare both formed and elongated along the prescribed center axis passingthrough the center of gravity of the case in a three-dimensionalconfiguration, for example.

[0019] Therefore, it is possible to establish a stable stackingrelationship between the portable housing cases, regardless of sizes andshapes. This will noticeably reduce the probability of occurrence ofload shifts and the like in loading and transportation of the portablehousing cases, which are stacked together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] These and other objects, aspects, and embodiments of the presentinvention will be described in more detail with reference to thefollowing drawings, in which:

[0021]FIG. 1A is a front view of a portable housing case in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0022]FIG. 1B is a plan view of the portable housing case;

[0023]FIG. 1C is a bottom view of the portable housing case;

[0024]FIG. 2 is a side view of the portable housing case;

[0025]FIG. 3 is an exploded front view showing plural cases that arestacked together;

[0026]FIG. 4 is an exploded side view showing plural cases that arestacked together;

[0027]FIG. 5A diagrammatically shows a positional relationship betweentwo cases of different sizes and shapes, which are stacked together;

[0028]FIG. 5B diagrammatically shows a positional relationship betweenthree cases of different sizes and shapes, which are stacked together;

[0029]FIG. 6A is a front view showing the exterior appearance of aconventional portable housing case; and

[0030]FIG. 6B is a bottom view showing the exterior appearance of theconventional portable housing case, which arranges projecting elementsfor stacking with other cases.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0031] This invention will be described in further detail by way ofexamples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032]FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C are a front view, a plan view, and a bottomview of a portable housing case illustrated in accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of theportable housing case.

[0033] That is, a portable housing case 10 is basically constituted by abase board 1 and a top board 2, which are accompanied with frames 1 aand 2 a respectively at prescribed peripheral end portions thereof. Thebase board 1 and the top board 2 having hollow space are combinedtogether using hinges 3 so as to form a shell, which can be freelyopened or closed. The hinges 3 are arranged opposite to the frames 1 aand 2 a, between which a handle 4 having an appropriate shape suiting ahuman hand, and lock mechanisms 5 are arranged. In addition, legs 6 canbe also arranged in proximity to the exterior surfaces of the hinges 3in order to allow the case 10 to be vertically arranged on the floor andthe like as necessary.

[0034] The base board 1 and the top board 2 are both made of syntheticresins such as ABS resins. The portable housing case 10 constituted bythe boards 1 and 2 can be assembled in such a way that after forming theboards 1 and 2 independently of each other, the boards 1 and 2 arejoined together using prescribed joints such as hinges. Alternatively,the boards 1 and 2 are joined together by hinge formation in which theyare partially thinned at joint portions thereof and are integrallycombined together.

[0035] The aforementioned boards 1 and 2 are asymmetrically formed inmold processes in such a way that a band-shaped hollow 11 is formed onthe base board 1 and is extended in a longitudinal direction about acenter axis X1 (see FIG. 1C), while a band-shaped projection 21 isformed on the top board 2 and is extended in a longitudinal directionabout a center axis X2 (see FIG. 1B). Herein, the band-shaped hollow 11has a width W₁ with respect to the center axis X₁, and the band-shapedprojection 21 has a width W₂ with respect to the center axis X₂. Asshown in FIG. 2, the hollow 11 and the projection 21 are arrangedopposite to each other and are adjusted in positional relationships insuch a way that they can be engaged with each other when two cases arestacked together.

[0036] In the above, the width W₁ of the band-shaped hollow 11substantially matches the width W₂ of the band-shaped projection 21 indimensions. Alternatively it is possible to enlarge the width W₁ of theband-shaped hollow 11 to be slightly larger than the width W₂ of theband-shaped projection 21. In addition, square sides or corners areadequately subjected to chambering.

[0037] A depth d of the band-shaped hollow 11 substantially matches aheight t of the band-shaped projection 21. Alternatively, it is possibleto enlarge the depth d of the band-shaped hollow 11 to be slightlylarger than the height t of the band-shaped projection 21.

[0038] The present embodiment is basically designed in such a way thatthe band-shaped hollow 11 is extended in the longitudinal direction ofthe base board 1 approximately about the center axis X₁, and theband-shaped projection 21 is extended in the longitudinal direction ofthe top board 2 approximately about the center axis X₂. Of course, thisinvention is not necessarily limited to the present embodiment; that is,it is possible to adequately modify or change the hollow 11 and theprojection 21 in positions. In addition, the base board 1 does notnecessarily arrange a single hollow 111 thereon, and the top board 2does not necessarily arrange a single projection 21 thereon. That is, itis possible to arrange multiple hollows on the base board 1 and multipleprojections on the top board 2. Therefore, it is possible to adequatelydetermine the positions and the number of the hollow and projectionformed on the base and top board in response to the overall design ofthe case and its manufacturing cost.

[0039]FIGS. 3 and 4 show plural cases that are stacked together by wayof an engagement established between the hollow and projection thereof.In FIG. 3, two cases 10 and 10′ are horizontally arranged and stackedtogether in such a way that the band-shaped hollow 11 of the base board1 of the case 10′ in the upper position is engaged with the band-shapedprojection 21 of the top board 2 of the case 10 in the lower position.Thus, the present embodiment allows plural cases to be easily stackedtogether.

[0040] When two cases are stacked together, the band-shaped hollow andband-shaped projection are engaged with each other along thelongitudinal direction, wherein the depth of the band-shaped hollowsubstantially matches the height of the band-shaped projection.Therefore, even if the surfaces of the shells are formed by curved orrounded boards, the adjoining cases can be reliably stacked together ina stable manner without causing slippage therebetween.

[0041] Suppose that two cases 10 and 10′ having different lengths arehorizontally arranged and piled together as shown in FIG. 3, wherein asatisfactory stacking relationship may be established when an engagementrelationship is securely established between the band-shaped hollow 11and the band-shaped projection 21, which are formed the base board 1 andthe top board 2 that are placed opposite to each other and is directlyadjacent to each other. Herein, the case 10′ has a longer length in thelongitudinal direction compared with the other one, wherein it ispreferable to provide openings with respect to both ends of theband-shaped hollow 11 so that the case 10′ can be arrangedintermediately within the cases stacked together. In contrast, theband-shaped projection 21 can be decreased in length compared with theband-shaped hollow 11 in consideration of exterior designs, for example.Herein, it is possible to form tapered slopes on end portions of theband-shaped projection 21 in the longitudinal direction. Of course, theband-shaped projection 21 is not necessarily elongated in a band shapeentirely from one end to another in the longitudinal direction. In orderto achieve a satisfactory stacking stability, it is preferable to formthe projection having a band shape, which is elongated in a certainlength.

[0042] The present embodiment allows not only the cases of differentlengths but also the cases of different sizes to be easily stackedtogether.

[0043] In order to achieve the aforementioned stacking functions,regardless of the overall shapes of the shells, all kinds of casesshould be designed in consideration of the following factors.

[0044] (i) The same standard is established in dimensions with respectto the width ‘w’, depth ‘d’, and height ‘t’ in formation of theband-shaped hollow 11 and the band-shaped projection 21.

[0045] (ii) The band-shaped hollow 11 and the band-shaped projection 21are both arranged with respect to a prescribed center axis Xg(X₁₀, X₂₀,X₃₀) passing through a center of gravity of each case in athree-dimensional configuration.

[0046] The aforementioned factors will be described in detail withreference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, which show that plural cases can bestacked together regardless of vertical positioning thereof under theprescribed condition where the same dimensions are substantially securedin the width ‘w’, depth ‘d’, and height ‘t’ with respect to theband-shaped hollow 11 and the band-shaped projection 21 respectively.Specifically, FIG. 5A shows a stacking relationship between two cases,namely, a trumpet case 10 whose shell has an elongated trapezoidal shapereceiving a trumpet, and a drum case 20 whose shell has an approximatelycircular shape receiving a drum (set), for example.

[0047]FIG. 5B shows stacking relationships between three cases, namely,a long-length case 10, and small-size cases 20 and 30 of different sizesand shapes, wherein the small-size cases 20 and 30 are both togetherwith the long-length case 10.

[0048] The aforementioned figures are illustrated in such a way that theband-shaped hollow and band-shaped projection are both arrangedapproximately at the center position in the longitudinal direction withrespect to each case. Of course, the position and the number are notnecessarily limited as illustrated in these figures with respect to eachof the band-shaped hollow and band-shaped projection. That is, thepresent embodiment requires that the band-shaped hollow and band-shapedprojection be arranged at the prescribed positions establishing symmetrywith regard to the center axis Xg passing though the center of gravityof each case in a three-dimensional configuration, so that the number ofthe band-shaped hollow(s) and band-shaped projection(s) iscorrespondingly determined.

[0049] As described above, the present embodiment can reliably establishdesired positional relationships between portable housing cases ofdifferent sizes and shapes, which are stacked together, wherein theportable housing cases receiving musical instruments and the like can berealized without damaging designs thereof.

[0050] In the above, the portable housing case is basically designed toreceive a prescribed musical instrument such as a trumpet and a drum. Ofcourse, the portable housing case of this invention is not necessarilylimited to receipt of a musical instrument and the like; therefore, itcan be used in other purposes such as a traveling case, a suitcase, andthe like.

[0051] As described heretofore, this invention has a variety of effectsand technical features, which will be described below.

[0052] (1) A portable housing case particularly for use in receipt of aprescribed musical instrument is basically constituted by a pair of abase board and a top board, which are assembled together using hinges toform a shell, which can be freely closed or opened, wherein these twoboards are accompanied with stacking controls. Specifically, the baseboard has a band-shaped hollow elongated in a longitudinal directionthereof, and the top board has a band-shaped projection elongated in alongitudinal direction thereof, wherein the band-shaped hollow and theband-shaped projection are engaged with each other when the case isstacked with the other one. That is, stacking controls are realized bymerely forming the band-shaped hollow and band-shaped projection on thebase board and the top board respectively without using additional partstherefor. Hence, it is possible not to increase the manufacturing costfor realizing stacking controls with respect the portable housing cases,which are stacked together as necessary. The aforementioned stackingstructure can be easily embodied in any types of the cases such ascurved or round-shaped cases and small-size cases for receiving smallmusical instruments such as recorders for music training withoutdeteriorating exterior designs.

[0053] (2) When two cases are stacked together, the band-shaped hollowand the band-shaped projection may easily match in positioning and maybe easily engaged with each other along the longitudinal direction. Thisprovides a superior effect in stacking, in which the stacked cases arehardly affected by movements, shaking, and vibrations in loading toavoid occurrence of load shifts during transportation. This inventioncan be easily realized by introducing the prescribed standard into anytypes of the cases with respect to dimensions regarding the width,depth, and height of the band-shaped hollow and band-shaped projection.Therefore, it is possible to establish a stable stacking relationshipbetween the cases of different sizes and shapes with ease.

[0054] As this invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, thepresent embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, sincethe scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather thanby the description preceding them, and all changes that fall withinmetes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and boundsare therefore intended to be embraced by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable housing case comprising: a base boardhaving a frame at a peripheral end portion thereof; a top board having aframe at a peripheral end portion thereof, which is hinged to the baseboard to form a shell, which can be freely closed or opened; a handlethat is attached to the frame of the top board or the frame of the baseboard; and at least one lock mechanism arranged in connection with theframe of the top board or the frame of the base board, wherein aband-shaped hollow is formed on an exterior surface of the base boardand is extended in a longitudinal direction, and a band-shapedprojection is formed on an exterior surface of the top board and isextended in a longitudinal direction.
 2. A portable housing caseaccording to claim 1, wherein the band-shaped hollow is formed inprescribed dimensions to substantially match the band-shaped projectionwhen engaged in stacking.
 3. A portable housing case comprising: a pairof boards that are hinged to each other to form a shell, which can befreely closed or opened; a band-shaped hollow that is formed on anexterior surface of one of the boards and is extended in a longitudinaldirection; and a band-shaped projection that is formed on an exteriorsurface of the other of the boards and is extended in a longitudinaldirection, wherein the band-shaped hollow is formed in prescribeddimensions to substantially match the band-shaped projection whenengaged in stacking.
 4. A portable housing case according to claim 3,wherein the band-shaped hollow and the band-shaped projection arearranged at prescribed positions of the boards to establish symmetrywith regard to a center axis passing through the center of gravity ofthe shell.
 5. A portable housing case according to claim 3 or 4, whereinthe boards are combined together using hinges, and wherein a handle anda lock mechanism are arranged in proximity to frames of the boards,which are arranged opposite to the hinges.
 6. A portable housing caseaccording to claim 3 or 4, wherein the band-shaped hollow has open endsin the longitudinal direction.
 7. A portable housing case according toclaim 3 or 4, wherein the band-shaped hollow has a prescribed width anda prescribed depth, which match a width and a height of the band-shapedprojection.
 8. A portable housing case according to claim 1 or 3,wherein the shell is shaped to receive a prescribed musical instrument.